The Horrors of Prebilovci: A Dark Chapter of World War II Atrocities ( 🔥 "Even the Nazis Were Horrified" – The Shocking Massacre Italy Tried to Hide)

The photograph of Italian General Alexandro Luzano standing above the slaughtered body of a Serbian child in the village of Prebilovci is a haunting testament to one of the most brutal massacres of World War II. The letter he later sent to Benito Mussolini, preserved in military archives, reveals the unspeakable horrors committed by the Ustasha regime—a fascist puppet government installed in Croatia under Nazi and Italian influence.

A Crime Beyond Comprehension

In his letter, General Luzano describes arriving in Prebilovci after receiving reports of a massacre. What he witnessed in the village school defied all humanity. Inside a classroom, he found the mutilated bodies of a Serbian teacher, Stana Arnautović, and 120 of her students—none older than twelve. The details are harrowing:

Children were beheaded, their heads placed on desks.

Intestines were ripped out and nailed to the walls like "New Year's ribbons."

A bag of salt was found nearby—evidence that the victims were slowly tortured as their wounds were salted.

Amid the carnage, one child was found barely alive, his throat slashed but still breathing. After being rushed to a military hospital, the boy recounted the full horror: the Ustasha forces had raped the teacher and young girls while a forced Gypsy orchestra played, drowning out screams. Even more disturbingly, a Catholic priest allegedly participated in the atrocities.

The Aftermath: A Village Erased

The massacre did not end at the school. The Ustashas rounded up another 800 villagers, slaughtering them and throwing their bodies into pits. Of Prebilovci’s original population, only about 300 men survived, escaping to the mountains. Luzano noted that these survivors, having lost everything—families, homes, and any fear of death—were now driven solely by vengeance.

The scale of the killings was so vast that nearby water sources turned red from blood. Luzano himself witnessed a spring in Popovo Polje, near a mass grave of 4,000 Serbs, spewing discolored water.

A Plea to Mussolini: Condemn the Ustasha Madness
Shaken by what he saw, Luzano warned Mussolini that Italy risked being complicit in these crimes by its association with the Ustasha regime. He urged the Duce to distance Italy from such barbarity, writing:

"An indelible stain will fall on the conscience of Italy and our culture if, while the time is right, we do not distance ourselves from the Ustashas and prevent it from being attributed to us for supporting insanity!"

A Legacy of Trauma and Denial

The Prebilovci massacre was not an isolated event. Similar atrocities occurred across Herzegovina, Bosnia, Lika, and Dalmatia as part of the Ustasha’s genocidal campaign against Serbs, Jews, and Roma. Yet, for decades, these crimes were suppressed or minimized in historical narratives.

Today, memorials stand in Prebilovci, but the full truth remains contested in some circles. Luzano’s letter serves as a rare, unfiltered account from a high-ranking Axis officer—proof that even fascist allies were horrified by the Ustasha’s brutality.

The story of Prebilovci is a grim reminder of the depths of human cruelty—and the moral responsibility of those who witness evil to speak against it.

Never forget. Never repeat.